CH177020 - Sanctionable conduct by tax advisers: file access notice: power to access a tax adviser's files
There are two circumstances in which we are able to issue a file access notice to a tax adviser. They are known as Case A and Case B.
Case A
Case A is where we have reasonable grounds to suspect that the tax adviser is engaging in, or has engaged in, sanctionable conduct.
Case B
Case B is where the tax adviser has been convicted of an offence relating to tax that involves fraud or dishonesty, and the offence was committed after they became a tax adviser. It does not matter whether they were still a tax adviser when they committed the offence, and it is regardless of the capacity in which they committed the offence.
A further requirement in Case B is that any appeal rights against that conviction have either expired or been exhausted within the last 12 months.
If either Case A or Case B circumstances exist then we are able to request relevant documents from the tax adviser. We request these using a file access notice.
‘Relevant documents’ are the tax adviser's working papers and other documents used in assisting clients with their tax affairs.
If we issue a file access notice under Case A, we can only require relevant documents in relation to the tax adviser’s clients in respect of whom we have reasonable grounds to suspect the tax adviser engaged in sanctionable conduct. Those clients must be identified in the file access notice.
We may obtain tribunal approval before we issue a file access notice in Case A and Case B situations.
Before seeking tribunal approval, we must tell the tax adviser that we are planning to do so and give them a reasonable opportunity to make representations to us. We must ensure the tribunal receives a summary of any representations made. The tribunal’s decision to approve a file access notice is final – a file access notice issued to a tax adviser that has been pre-approved by the Tribunal may not be appealed.
If we issue a file access notice without Tribunal approval, the tax adviser may appeal the file access notice or any requirement within it (see CH177240– appeals).
We can issue a file access notice after 1 April 2026 requesting documents that existed before 1 April 2026. We can request these earlier documents to allow us to determine whether the test for sanctionable conduct is met. This may include, for example, seeking records to confirm that a person is acting as a tax adviser for a taxpayer where that relationship began before 1 April 2026.
In cases involving tax adviser firms and employees who are themselves tax advisers, a file access notice will typically, in the first instance, be more appropriately directed to the firm rather than an individual employee.
FA12/SCH38/PARA7 as amended